After a grueling defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday Night Football the LA Chargers are back at home with extra days of rest to host the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 3.
While the Jaguars had the worst record in the league last season this does not appear to be the same horrible Jaguars team. New coaching has done wonders for the team and Chargers fans can definitely expect a more competitive team than they probably expected.
The Chargers are also dealing with Justin Herbert having a rib injury. Whether or not Herbert plays will all be based on his pain level with fractured rib cartilage and we will not know until later in the week if he plays. That can make picking this game a bit dicey.
All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.
Chargers vs Jaguars odds in Week 3 with Justin Herbert's injury:
A lot can change if Justin Herbert is indeed ruled out for this game but it appears that the oddsmakers are already preparing for that to be a reality. As it stands right now, the Chargers are seven-point favorites against the spread while being -335 money line favorites. Jacksonville is a +275 money line underdog.
If there were no concerns about Herbert's health then the Chargers would likely be around 9.5-point favorites at home against the Jaguars. The over/under has seemingly been impacted as well, with the point total being set at 47.5 points.
Chargers vs Jaguars prediction in Week 3 with Justin Herbert's injury:
Because we don't really know what to expect with Justin Herbert, if you were going to pick any side of this game I would pick Jaguars +7. The Chargers are really going to struggle to beat the Jags if Herbert does not play and even if he does play, the team might be cautious, leading to a Jacksonville cover or push.
While that pick is a bit iffy, the one side of this game that is an absolute lock is the under. Vegas still seemingly has not adjusted to the fact that the Chargers have a really good defense and that it is going to be hard to score points on them this season.
Add in the fact that the Bolts will either be without Herbert or will be with a compromised Herbert and the under seems way to good to be true. If Daniel plays then points will be hard to come by. If Herbert plays then the Chargers are going to be careful with the hits he takes.
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Either way, we will probably see a lot of the team running the ball with the defense stepping up against a Jaguars offense that has scored an average of 23 points a game this season.